Summoning Servant

[Miro]

82nd day of Fall, 513 AV

Miro had arrived home and expected to find Lessomm waiting to serve him when he walked through the door. Today the wizard hoped to ask a favor of his servant. Recently the undead had purchased a book, one on a magical discipline. It was one he had experience with in the past, though never attempted. He had a loose understanding of how to perform the skill, and had witnessed firsthand what it could accomplish. The discipline of Summoning was a world magic that allow gateways to other worlds for the purpose of fetching creatures.

From what was already understood it used a circle marked with what were called astral cooridnates, a key to guide the portal to world. There were many modifications one could improvise on a circle to effect the conditions of the Summoning as well. Beyond that one only needed to know what they wished to Summon and how to best accomplish such a feat. The risk involved came from trying to control or manipulate a creature. Apparently if the leash that binds them is ever severed they are released into the world with no way back.

What gaps remained in Miro's knowledge of the magic would be filled by the book. Skimming through the pages he saw entries on different worlds and even marked coordinates. It also appeared to hold many lengthy explanations on the discipline. Most interesting were the diagrams of different circles and explanations on how to craft and modify them. Even in some cases were there listings of many common fauna and flora. Though with something as expansive as a world, one could never truly document it all within a single book.

However, as with most world magics, to activate and control a circle had a cost. It was a toll that he could not pay, for he hadn't the slightest amount to offer. An offer of blood was needed to establish a connection with the circle and activate it, however as a Type II Chained One Miro hadn't any blood. While this offered him great protection from death, he was left unable to perform many disciplines of world magic. Even his dreams of honing his skills in Animation were gone. However it was lucky for him that his servant was a wizard filled with blood.

Miro could not operate a Summoning circle himself, but he could train Lessomm to do so. Even if the servant could only produce a creature and not control it would be fine. Just to bring a creature from another world to the Reimancer was all that was needed. Controlling and getting use from the Summon could be left to the master. With his magic there was hardly any threat of danger, and whatever use the creature held could be accomplished with force. Though he did not see his servant refusing, he still would allow the option. It would be an addition to the workload already present for the servant, but already explained as part of his duties.

The Chained One grinned in delight at the potential furthering of his servant's usefulness. He was not sure what power the ability to bring dangerous creatures held for him, but he was sure there was gain to be made. As pets they could serve him or be sold for profit. As tools for experiment they would be cheap and disposable. Best of all they would allow him a challenging fight like the days of the Colosseum. Shale and his Summonings were always interesting opponents to fight. It was at that time that he pushed his magics to achieve the greatness he held today.

Miro walked through the door of his home and immediately made his way to the wardrobe. Within it was not only clothing and magical supplies, but on the top shelf were a collection of books. On the far right was the entry on Summoning, which was removed and held under arm. The wizard walked to the bed and placed the book upon it. He moved back to the wardrobe and pulled forth his Glyphing bag and set it next to the book on the bed. The first world he wanted to start with was Fyrden, as it was possible to Summon Familiars from the world. If Lessomm wanted he could become bound to one.

He would seek to start by making a Summoning plate dedicated to the world for future use. A stone surface made from Reimancy and filled in with a basic circle. He would load it with coordinates to Fyrden and use it to practice Summoning from Fyrden. Even if he could not complete the act of Summoning, he could still be an expert of the lore of worlds. Everything the book had to offer he would study and commit to memory. He spoke to his servant sitting in the room waiting to be addressed. "I have a lesson for you today Lessomm. I have a book on a magical discipline you may be interested to learn. If you have no objection, may we begin?"

[Lessomm]

Lessomm turned around, letting his eyes drift over the room of his master. After having swept the entire place Lessomm had brought in a bucket of water, using his master's absence this morning to his advantage. Using one of the chairs in the room, Lessomm has started cleaning the entire surface of the walls and floor using the bucket of water and a royal amount of old but clean rags. Even though the sweat was dripping of his forehead and running down his nose to the tip, where it decided to drip down from, Lessomm stood smiling in the middle of the room. His overcoat and official shirt were hanging over the other chair in the room, tucked away in a corner together with the rest of the furniture, a simple chest and a table. The bed was already on that side of the room. Standing in just his undershirt, Lessomm's six arms were hanging down as he looked over the result of his work. With chair and rags in hand, Lessomm had started from the far end of the room, scrubbing his way down the walls to the floor. With his master absent, Lessomm had taken the liberty of whistling a soft tune for himself, to help him pass the time and to put a steady rhythm in his work. With Lessomm's training happening at random points in the day, he always had his work cut out for him, both during training itself and afterwards, as his master had the habit of using a lot of magically crafted items during the lessons and then discard them once their purpose was fulfilled. So until today, Lessomm hadn't really had a chance to do any serious work in his master's room. As he worked his way through the room, scrubbing away at patches of dust or stains on the wall, gathered over time by the many tennants of the room before his master, Lessomm focused his mind on one of the many exercises his master had set out for him. As six hands had been scrubbing over the wall and working away the more resilient stains, his mind had focused inside of himself, on the endless streams of djed that moved and gathered in his body. As if the djed were a small animal, Lessomm started nudging it with his mind in the right direction, focusing on guiding the djed to where he wanted it to go, rather than pull it in the direction he needed it to go. As more of the wall started gleaming under his care, Lessomm focused his djed just outside of his skin, letting it seep out of his body to form a thin layer over his skin and clothes. Although invisible to the naked eye, Lessomm could feel how his djed formed small patches at first and slowly grew, connecting the patches together into larger chunks and then connecting those chunks together as well to form an entire layer of djed around Lessomm, hugging his frame and clothes tightly. His master's exercise was finished but Lessomm wasn't done just yet. With the djed in place, Lessomm started to task it, giving it a purpose beside just being in place. He focused on the water in the bucket and on the water running down his hands and arms. The purpose would be to keep the water from touching his skin, shielding him from it. He focused on the djed and on the task it was supposed to do. As the shield was not supposed to be a combat one or one used for longer periods of time, Lessomm ignored the djed absorbation that usually went in every shield. It was not needed for a shield like this. As he focused more on the shield and the task it was supposed to do, Lessomm forgot about the cleaning, his six arms still in the air, six hands holding six rags. The shield took form, taking Lessomm's djed and instructions as it solidified around him as he anchored it down with his djed. It wasn't really solidifying, as the shield remained slightly flexible and could move with Lessomm's movements, but it felt more solid than the constantly moving feeling of his djed. A shield that would reject water from coming through it yet would allow water to move out of it. As the shield was in place aorund himself, Lessomm focused back on the world around him and the wall before him and set himself back to work. As he looked over the result of his work, one half of the room as spotless and shining as possible in a place such as this, he smiled and wiped away the sweat from his forehead. He had been able to maintain the shield throughout the whole chore. Apart form his forehead his entire body was still dry, something that would have drawn attention outside of this household but was considered normal in this one. It had taken him considerably more time to form and task the shield than it normally did but he felt less strained by forming it than he normally did. The repeated practice of his master's exercises had helped Lessomm advance his mastery over the discipline and over his own djed. Just as he was about to start finishing up and replacing everything, his master walked through the door, drawing Lessomm from his thoughts. "Good morning master. How was your trip? I apologize for the mess this morning but I didn't know when you would be back so I took the opportunity to do some cleaning." He waved one of six arms towards the furniture all pushed together into one half of the room, the other half empty and gleaming. He quickly moved the bucket aside as his master moved to the wardrobe and started looking for something. Lessomm took that moment to gather the rags and stack them up next to the bucket. While his master prepared himself, Lessomm grabbed the table with six hands and lifted it up from the ground, moving it across the room, back to its original spot. The chest followed suit and was placed back as well. By the time the room was set precisely the way it had been when Lessomm had entered, his master adressed him. "Of course master. I'm at your service." He walked over to the bed to look at the setup his master had created, using one of the clean rags to dap at his forehead, removing the last drops of sweat and turning his attention one hundred percent towards his master's lesson.

[Miro]

Miro smiled at the comments made by his servant. Not only was he greeted, but by a cleaned room. "My trip was fine, very productive. And the room, it looks great. You always ensure it does. I am proud to have you Lessomm." He grabbed the book and decided to stand where his servant could hear him clearly, As he opened the book he looked up at the man. "I am glad you are so eager to begin. I shall begin with the basics of this, today's lesson. This book is on a world magic, Summoning. With it one is able to summon many creatures. An example of this is Ender, my Familiar."

Ender returned his natural form and floated towards Lessomm so that he might be examined further. "Ender is an Irylid, a creature composed mostly of ice. He was summoned from a world known as Fyrden, one split between eternal day and night. Hot and cold too intense for humans to handle. But this is but one of the thousands upon thousands of worlds that exist." Miro flipped through the book one more time to gain sight into each section, and then smirked as he clapped it close. "As you may know, most world magics require a donation of blood. It establishes a link to the wizard's Djed, which allows control over the circle. I lack blood, while you have plenty to spare."

"Your task will be to learn to summon for your master. This book contains an overview of the magic, its applications, risks, and will allow you to understand the process well enough to emulate it. As well it contains what are called astral coordinates." The wizard dropped to the floor and placed the book in his lap. He fanned through the pages until he found the entry he wished to explain. "These are numbers, sixteen in total, placed around the outside of the circle. They program the destination of the circle, where it will open a portal to. For each world they have their own unique, well, it seems some sort of frequency, which forms a measurable signature for the world."

Miro became puzzled at this next part of the description, as it seemed mostly irrelevant, yet still related nonetheless. "It seems through some complicated ritual involving some rare materials, one can measure this and translate it to coordinates. Though it does not seem to matter, for we already have our documented. And it seems we lack the means to even create this ritual. However it does state that the world of Mizahar is unique, it has no coordinates. I suppose that any application that involves Summoning from this world can be thrown out." Things were starting to make sense, especially since the wizard had already witnessed the magic a few times. "Next I will explain in brief about circles."

The Reimancer flipped pages again until he got to the introductory information on the circles used for the magic. "Apart from the coordinates, a circle is comprised of a specialized design. They can range from simplistic to extremely complex, even enhanced with Glyphing. Though the more complex a circle, the more power it holds. Different circle arrangements can hold different effects as well. Being able to channel more creatures, last longer, give more control, specify what can and can not to be summoned, and even become more appealing for certain types of Summons. Though of course, more advanced circles require more skill. So we shan't risk anything more than a simple application."

More flipping, he found an entry on worlds, as well as instructions for activating and controlling a circle. The bit on activation he wished to hold onto for now, but the bit on worlds seemed simple enough. "It seems worlds are divided into what are called low worlds and high worlds. A low world being one considered lesser than Mizahar, while a high world is one considered greater. A low world creature is likely to be willing to enter our world, while a high world one would likely not. It is heavily implied that creatures have a choice in passing through portals to our world." It was interesting to think of what would designate a world to be considered greater than Mizahar. It would be his goal to find and enslave a high world Summoning.

He continued on with the lesson, becoming enthralled with the information as he went on. "It seems Mizahar is unique in other ways as well. It appears worlds with multliple sentient races, magics, and civilizations are very rare. We definitely won't find any in this book." It was a shame, because alien magic sounded truly amazing. He would love to learn the ways of a unique discipline and be the only one on the world to practice it. There was another interesting note that drew his attention away however. "Hmm, it seems that the magic used to be restricted pre-Valterrian. However it is now mostly unrestricted, though examples of its banning still exist." Though the information he was not nearly as applied as he would hope.

"Ah, here we are." Finally a properly written instructional guide to Summoning. "Once one has created an appropriate circle, filled in the astral coordinates, it is finally ready to be activated with a drop of blood. The bleeding finger is pressed against the outermost circle and the connection is formed. The inside should become a swirling vortex, accompanied with lights, sounds, scents, and most importantly an aura that is so powerful it has visible colors. From this dark vortex, contained within the aura, rises the Summon." This part he had witnessed, but was not familiar with the next mention. The book claimed the circle formed a leash, but he had never seen such a thing.

Then it became apparent why he had not. "It seems that the creature should not be able to leave the circle without the wizards permission, unless powerful enough to overwhelm him. It is anchored to the circle by a leash, a Djed chain of sorts, only visible to the wizard. This is connected to the user's will, and can be controlled to a degree. He may drag them back through the portal or restrain their powers in other ways, such as magical abilities for those who possess them. One can even weaken the restraint it holds over the Summon's ability, but once, err, loosened, one can not, ya know, tighten it again."

Miro was interested in this new concept of a leash. He had before noticed variations in circles, astral coordinates, seen the process, but this concept of a Djed leash was entirely foreign. He continued to scan, taking in every word, when finally he found it. "Aha, here we are." He drew his finger along the page as he read aloud. "One must be careful with a leash, as more powerful creatures will be able to break them if they are weak enough. As well there have been instances of magic breaking them. However even stressing its ability to pull the creature with too much force can cause it to snap." Very interesting to know.

The Reimancer realized with luck he could destroy the Djed link a Summoner had over it. But then he realized what such an act would mean. "And it seems that once a leash is broken, the Summon is entirely unable to return to their home world. Permanently unleashed with the Summoner who brought them to the world." Though the subject matter seemed to be rapidly changing. It seemed most of the process, if not all of it, was already explained. "Hold on a moment, there seems to be mention of risks now. And even what uses the discipline holds. Please, allow me to read ahead, then I will explain everything."

The book spoke of a few examples of the valuable uses the magic held for any of those who practiced. He continued on, reading also the risks of such daring ventures. "A Summoner usually summons a creature for a specific task. However a deal must be worked out with a Summon, which presents risks. They will often attempt to entice the wizard into weakening the chain enough for them to regain dangerous abilities, and often will have their own agendas. However, with special tools, it seems it is possible to pick flora and other material from portals. However such material is possibly dangerous. Apparently such an example exists within the tome."

Miro finished reading the section and clapped the book closed yet again. "It appears that the biggest risk comes from creatures powerful enough to harm the Summoner. Some risk factors mentioned were shoddy circles, Summoning too many creatures or creatures too powerful, or even weakening a leash too much." Though the undead paused for a while, feeling as if he had forgotten something. "Oh yes, I almost forgot, there is something else. A circle can only cross so much Djed and be open for only so long before it collapses and cuts the chain. At which point, as you know, it is permanently trapped within our world."

It felt great to have learned so much information on a magic that had interested him for years. Shale held his abilities a rather well kept secret, however Alendrus didn't seem to hold the same reserve. Though he had admitted to making a few mistakes that would have cost him his life, if not for Miro's assistance. Though what he was able to accomplish was quite amazing. And both wizards were both a Summoner and Voider, for obvious reason too. "It is recommended you learn some form of offensive magic to deal with creatures too powerful. This can be used for leverage in a negotiation, or defense against a rogue Summon."

At the mention of pushing yet another magical discipline on his servant, the Chained One filled with the all-too-familiar lust for power. He expanded his hypnotic aura of influence and began to adjust his posture. He stood tall, shoulders back, hand behind his back. A stern stance to assist in his influence. He channeled Djed to his eyes and voice both. His eyes would push an emotional response of responsibility, while his words would implant a subconscious suggestion. "I could teach you Reimancy, a perfect tool to strike fear, as well as defend one's self." He so desperately wished to make Lessomm his apprentice.

The hypnotic suggestion implanted was a simple one, however channeled with as much Djed as possible to force it deeper into his target's brain. "It would be best to learn Reimancy" His eyes changed emotions, now channeling a suggestion of their own. As well his voice was prepared with another emotion, and it would build the longer the wizard spoke. The suggestion, "I truly wish to learn Reimancy." And the emotion possessing his voice was that of desirous longing. The Hypnotist spoke in his most sly voice, both eloquent and subtle both.

"Lessomm, please, you are the greatest gift to me Lhex has ever delivered, so willing to serve me. You do things for me that I am no longer capable of, and for that, truly, I am beyond grateful. I can see it in your eyes, you wish to learn Summoning for me, with me, and together we can explore world after world. But you must be able to protect yourself, from Summons, or the other fiends this world holds. This world, as well as all others, it holds danger. I need you to learn Reimancy. I need to protect my most valuable asset. My closest and most trusted friend. Become my Reimancy Apprentice!" The continuous casting was strenuous on the eyes and throat both, but only enough to cause mild discomfort. It was worth the Djed and strain to impart his will.

[Lessomm]

Lessomm was always happy to hear his master was doing fine and the trips he made were being fruitful. Although it was never up to him wether these trips would be worth his master's time, Lessomm always felt bad whenever they weren't. He was surprised to find his master not creating stone circles or cups out of thin air but rather taking up a book. Apparently they would learn about summoning today and somehow Ender was related to this. Lessomm had always wondered where the familiar had come from, or where any familiar came from, really. It was only now that he would get a complete and detailed answer. The familiar floated towards Lessomm, who held his hand out carefully, letting the familiar decide to float in his hand or to clasp itself around his wrist, a place where the familiar had spend some time over the past season. It was not possible for the two to communicate, as far as Lessomm knew off, but he felt a connection to the creature which he didn't or couldn't share with his master. Both servants to the same master, Lessomm could relate to the alien creature, even without having spoken a single word with it. Lessomm listened to his master as he explained about Ender, his eyes were on the creature, observing it. The hint his master gave about the reasons for wanting Lessomm to learn summoning passed the servant by without a second thought. Lessomm listened attentively as he watched his master. The book seemed to be an interesting start into the world of summoning as his master kept pulling out more information from the book, supplying it to his apprentice and servant. Lessomm quickly learned that each summoning required a string of 16 numbers called astral coordinates. That sounded easy enough. Lessomm could think of plenty of 16 number strings right now. He discarded his 16 numbered string right after as he found out it was a very complicated and expensive trick to come up with those coordinates. As his master continued on with the lesson, Lessomm pulled one of the chairs closer and sat himself down, feeling more as a student than a servant right in that moment. From his belt he unclipped his notebook, a gift from his master, and opened it. As his master started explaining about the circles, Lessomm started taking notes. It was interesting to learn that glyphing could help out with summoning, which added more use to the magic he had already been practicing. In his own words, Lessomm wrote down everything his master exlained about the summoning magic. As he continued to listen and write, Lessomm learned more about the worlds you could summon from and their classifications into low and high worlds. He wondered for a short moment if there was a world somewhere out there much like mizahar minus all the monsters and all the dangers. As his master started on the practical guide to summoning, Lessomm's writing moved quicker as he picked up every word and wrote it down in his notes in quick yet clean handwriting. For some reason, Lessomm felt relieved when he learned that summonings were accompanied by a leash which limited their interaction with Mizahar at first, at least so long as the summoner didn't allow the leash to come off. Lessomm found his relief to be short lived as the book headed straight into risks of the magic. The part about being able to get materials from other worlds through the portal seemed uninteresting to Lessomm as they moved onto the risks of the magic. Although he had never heard more about the magic than its name, Lessomm was not surprised to learn that summoning something over your own skill level could easily kill the summoner and even the whole of Mizahar, if one was not careful. As his master spoke about learning an offensive magic to protect himself, Lessomm put his book down and paid attention. He knew what would be coming next, his master had hinted towards it for a long time already. Reimancy. He wasn't wrong. As he listened, he could feel his desire to learn the magic grow within him. It was a good idea, really, to learn a way to not only defend himself but also to attack others. He really wanted to learn Reimancy from his master, so he could be more effective and useful. But it wasn't right. It didn't feel right. As his master continued to speak, causing Lessomm's interest in the magic to rise up inside him, Lessomm fought it back. It wasn't right for him to take from his master what made his master so powerful. Reimancy was Miro's magic and it belonged to Miro. It was not something that should be shared with a simple servant like Lessomm. No, it was Lessomm's task to protect his master using shielding, wether it was a magical shield or Lessomm's own body, the young Eypharian would use it to prtoect his master. Outwardly, the struggle the young servant was going through didn't go unnoticed. It was clear from his face that Lessomm was affected by the hypnotism and that he wanted to learn the magic but also that he managed to overcome the hypnotism somehow, that he managed to lock his desire to take from his master what wasn't his to take. "Thank you, master. I understand and I will think about it. I feel that learning Reimancy is not a step one takes lightly." Lessomm quietly looked at the book in his master's hands. "Perhaps if I learn more about summoning I'll understand more the need for Reimancy to protect myself?" The excuse was wearing a bit thin after having used it so many times before but until now it had worked and his master had dropped the subject after that, focusing back on whatever they had been doing before it had come up. Lessomm stared down into his notes, reading the words and trying his best to register them.

[Miro]

Lessomm was always an excellent student. It was the reason he was perfect as an apprentice. But the servant did not want that. And he was always so cautious with magic, even when suggested by the master. It was understandable that he would want to take it slow. Miro was trying to raise a professional wizard, one well rounded and worthy of being his chosen student. Eventually the Reimancer would initiate the Eypharian into Reimancy. To ease the process he would induce a hypnotic trance and calm the initiate as the process took place. But he would likely take things further, introduce Leeching as well.

The apprentice would simply rest in bed for a week or so while he recovered. All the while the master would Hypnotize an instinctual understanding of his magics to ready his mind when he woke. With Glyphing and Summoning being learned as well, Lessomm would be perfect to be paired with Miro. Especially for his Shielding, the most desirable of his skills. It seemed that with practice the servant could become worthy of obtaining anything he so desired. And it would be worth it, if he could rise to become the apprentice the undead knew he could be.

Miro would ensure he could give Lessomm all he needed to reach his potential and be compensated for his talents. Given all of the luxuries desired and more. But things were not so simple at the current time. The wizard had invested most of his funds, and he had gotten little in return. This would have to change soon, and things would have to take a new direction. The season of Winter was coming, and it held the greatest possibility for change. He would take his place within the city and start his ascent to the top. Lessomm was but one part of his plan, though a very important one.

"You do not need to worry dear Lessomm, I understand entirely. I can see you wish to serve me, but you know an important truth. One must serve themselves first. This is so that they can commit their full will and effort. You are simply not ready yet, and who could blame you. Your master will keep you safe, and you can learn how Glyphing can give you a limited amount of the protection you need. When the time comes that you are ready to become my Reimancy apprentice, I will bless you with the most graceful initiation ritual I have ever performed. What normally would be a painful and scarring experience shall instead be empowering and seemless. Until then mature in your studies, for you are right, it is not a step one takes lightly."

Miro opened returned back to his book and opened it again. "I am glad we have that out of the way. Understanding the need for protection is what is most important. I know that you are capable of handling yourself. However, we should continue." He flipped through the sections to the lore of worlds. It began with an introduction. "The book is filled with a details on what it calls common worlds, coordinates known by nearly every Summoner. There are five in total, and the guide is complete with a description of the world and lists of known fauna and flora. And also common uses for the world."

"The first among them is the world of Familiars, Fyrden. It is described as a horrid world that is crowded with residents eager to leave their world to bond with wizards on Mizahar. This is how I came to be partnered with Ender. One half of the world is cloaked in eternal darkness and icy cold, and the other bakes in constant sunlight and burns hot. The residents of the world are divided between these sides, known as the Lightface and Darkface. The conflict between these extreme temperatures causes the planet to quake and and leaks Djed from the earth."

The undead grinned and turned the page. He hoped Ender was feeling grateful right about now. This next section was very interesting however. Classifications of the residents. "Three species of Familiar exist on each face. The Lightfacers are the Sarawanki, liquid creatures depended on heat, Avavali, steam creature with selfish tendencies and Pascids, shapeshifting creatures made of quicksilver." It was interesting to know what Familiars the Lightface held. "The Darkfacers are the Irylid, observant orbs of ice and reflective metal, the Kirt, shapeshifting tricksters made of ores, and the Gordios, creatures of pure darkness with the ability to absorb light."

Each of them were unique and had desirable traits about them. Miro could only imagine the power he would gain from having one of each Familiar bound to him. But he struck such thoughts form his mind and continued the lesson. On the next page was the next world, a dangerous one with only one noted use. "The next world is Kseyden, a world that is toxic and seemingly devoid of fauna. With a special pair of tweezers one might pick a type of poisonous flora and use harvest its harsh effects. Though that seems to be all it has to offer." The next page revealed Shoyden, a world the Reimancer was familiar with.

"Ah, and this one, Shoyden, it is very exciting. It has many dangerous and fearsome fauna, and the world seems to be tolerable for sentient life. Most notably are the Glassbeaks, terrifying birds of massive size. They are highly dangerous and extremely fast." And then the next page, a unique world. "Swalden is a planet made of gas, and lacks a solid surface. It has a crystaline ring about it made of unique gemstones called Memosites. Each of them holds memories left by a previous wizard. One may exchange a memory to the gemstone in exchange for one previously exchanged by another wizard. It even seems that messages can be passed through this medium from Summoner to Summoner."

The last world was another one of use. It contained a very special resident, a humanoid one. "And finally we get to Zaiden, an uncivilized world inhabited by a species known as the Diverse. They are mutated humanoids with a barbaric culture. They eagerly accept being Summoned for the chance to fight and be rewarded. Though it warns that one should be a skilled negotiator or capable in self defense when dealing with them." The wizard closed the book for now. "That is all on the common worlds, and among our choices, I recommend only one for right now. We should move on to a practical demonstration soon. Fyrden has a great selection of Summons that should not pose great risk."

Miro moved the book to the desk and opened to the section on circles. He read it over and smirked. It was filled with designs and studies they would have to address at a later time. The basics of circles was enough for now, but there was much more to learn. Documented circle techniques with descriptions of their abilities, and even an entry on developing one's own customized circles. "And as novices, we shall stick to the most simple of circles. Fittingly it is known as a minimal circle, for it contains but the bare necessities to open a gateway. Prepare yourself, for soon you shall be creating one."

The Reimancer set the book down and spoke the command, "Return." His staff returned to hand and he began to produce Res and create a thick plate large enough to be dressed with a circle and supporting Glyphing. It was transmuted to a hard dull rock, and would be as sturdy as it was heavy. "Prepare for your instructions." He waited a moment. "Get my Glyphing bag, take from it brushes and paint, and prepare the diagram of the minimal circle next to the plate. From there reproduce the circle await further instructions."

Once Lessomm had completed these tasks and finished painting the circle the master would continue. "Now you are to fill in the astral coordinates for Fyrden, so listen closely. Start from the top and begin working towards downward towards the left. The left, I again state, for you will ruin the circle otherwise." He waited for his student to be ready and moved back to the book and flipped back to the entry on Fyrden. "Okay, starting, the top number is six." And as the servant moved to each following entry he read the following number. "Seven, zero, one, nine, eight, four, seven, one, zero, four, eight, five, four, five, three." And finally all sixteen numbers were input.

For the final task he gave his apprentice free reign, though would give advice. "The last bit of your training will be up to you to perform, though I shall explain what I can." There was a lot that could be done to enhance world magic, but not much was available to the novice. Much like the minimalist theme of the Summoning circle, the Glyphing would be very basic. "Though much can be done to enhance a circle, add specific function and added customization, the most basic thing a Glypher can do is add a barrier for stability. This is all I expect you to do, though if you wish to attempt more, you have the freedom to do so. A barrier as such should contain the Djed of the circle and enhance its stability and function, even if only in slight."

Though there was always room for error, as the supplies here were disposable, the undead hoped that he could continue to use this plate in the future. It would be the perfect circle to use for Fyrden, and they would not have to repeat this process for training purposes. It could even be used by another aspiring Summoner. Even sold to the right buyer. However he knew the best was still yet to come. He and Lessomm were only just starting out, and if the plate crumbled after its first use, or even failed to work at all, he would be satisfied with their progress. However he certainly did wish to see another Fyrdenese Summoned. Mostly to see Ender's reaction, who had taken to sealing himself upon the servant to protect him.

[Lessomm]

It seemed his master either really understood the reasoning behind Lessomm's answer or he had simply decided to ask again later. It hadn't been the first time his master had offered to teach him Reimancy. And it hadn't been the first time he had politely and diplomatically refused. He was glad his master dropped the subject and continued on with the lesson. He focused back on his notebook and started writing down the five worlds his master described. Fyrden seemed very interesting to the novice summoner, especially because it held a connection to Ender, who, in turn, held a connection to his master. If he could find out more about Fyrden and its inhabitants, perhaps he could, in time, teach something to his master, repay back some of the immense debt of knowledge he was gathering. As quick as his master spoke, Lessomm wrote it down. The world consisted of two constant halves. Light and Dark, Hot and Cold, complete opposites to each other. For the light side of the world there were three distinct species. The piece of charcoal moved over the pages of the notebook. Sarawanki, liquid hot. Avalvi, selfish steam and Paskids, quicksilver shapeshifters. Darkside. Irlid, Ender. Kirt Ore shapeshifter. Gordios, pure darkness. He could immediately see that for every lightface there was some form of a darkface counterpart. Sarawanki and Irlid. Hot and Cold. Pascids and Kirt. Shapeshifters. Avalvi and Gordios, creatures without a solid body. He wondered if all worlds were like this or if this was a unique thing on Fyrden. Mizahar was obviously not a world like this. He realized that if Ender was an Irlid that meant that Ender had been summoned into Mizahar at some point of his life. He shelved his question for now as his master continued on. Kseyden. Poisenous. Poisenous plant ingredients? Expensive? Useless? The servant wrote down his own thoughts and ideas tot he official notes he got from the book. Perhaps at a later stage he would be able to borrow the book from his master and complete his notes and even spend some study time on his own. Shoyden. Glassbeaks. Boring? Holiday? Swalden. Gas. memosites. Memories in stones. Trade/Exchange? Zaiden. Diverse. Warriors for hire. Training? Mercs? Army? The notes were simply Lessomm's immediate thoughts written down. The Diverse, if they were approachable and could be spoken too properly, could become good training partners for any warrior if they had access to them. Lessomm nodded as he agreed with his maste. Fyrden did seem the logical choice at this point. He wondered if the world was really so bad and if Ender ever missed it. Another question he shelved for later. Lessomm looked up surprised at his master. "As Novices." Not as a novice but novices. The servant only now realized that in the magical discipline of summoning he was on exactly the same knowledge footing as his master. And for a split second, Lessomm felt uncertain and scared. Lessomm put his notebook back on his belt and moved to the bed, following his master's instructions. At first the sudden appearance of rock objects out of thin air had been surprising and a recuring interest of the servant. Now it was the as normal as saying good morning to his master when he arrived at work. He took the brushes and the paint and put the bag back down. He accepted the book from his master and knelt down next to the stone plate. With his eyes moving from the picture on the page to the stone plate, Lessomm started painting the minimal circle. The image was simple enough and the servant started to paint, forming a full circle, about the same size as the plate itself. In it he drew a second, smaller circle. From there he drew the middle lines, forming a cross to the middle of the circle. While drawing, Lessomm spoke softly to Ender, using him to pass the time. He had never gotten a single response from the creature before, although his master had supplied him a few times with answers to his questions. "Ender? What's it like, your homeworld? Can you tell us a bit about it?" The questions were probably going to remain unanswered but talking to the creature created a sense of friendship with the silent creature. A third, incredibly small circle, compared to the other two, was quickly painted. Finally he added the sixteen slots for the coordinates to his second outer circle, giving them an appointed space. He did his best to spread them out properly around the circle. Compared to glyphing, this magical circle had been easy enough. He had already finished it. Now he just needed the coordinates. His master started naming the coordinates. Lessomm made sure to repeat each one out loud before writing them down. "Seven, zero, one, nine, eight, four, seven, one, zero, four, eight, five, four, five, three." He stood up from his work and looked down on it. Not too bad, although it had been a minimal circle and even that had taken him a few chimes to complete. Lessomm listened to his master once more as he explained about what extras he could add to the circle. The barrier idea sounded very good to the servant and he sat himself to work on it. With the thinnest brush his master had in his glyphing bag, Lessomm set to work, drawing rune after rune around the outer circle of the summoning circle. The familiar runes were drawn easily enough, each one pointing inward towards the middle of the circle. The looked like thick arrows with wild tentacles on their sides, each one having four or six tentacles each. To finish it off, lessomm drew another long line between the runes, zig zagging between them and moving all the way around the circle to complete his barrier. Not wanting to leave anything up to chance, the servant drew on his own djed. His master had mentioned that he could attempt other things. He focused on the stone plate and started to weave his djed around it. Unlike the personal shield, which almost automatically created itself around him, the shield took him a long time to create. Each strand of djed had to be individually weaved between the others. Slowly but surely, the summoning shielder managed to build up his shield around the summoning circle. He continued to build up his djed, drawing on more of it as the shield built up. As with most cloth like substances, the form was not maintained and every bit of building up the servant did, seemed to fall down and fold in on itself. After a while, Lessomm decided that it was enough and he started to weave the shield shut, enclosing it completely in a tapestry of Djed. As with most shields, the Eypharian tasked it to start absorbing djed, an easy enough task, something that came with only a few thoughts and instructions into the shield. The second task he set to it was much more difficult. At first he wanted to task it to block all non humans but then realized it would block both his master and himself as well. He had no idea how to task it only to himself or to his master and he didn't want to task it to broadly in case something similar to a human came through. Finally he simply decided to task it to block non humans only, allowing humans to move through it yet keep everything out, or in, in this case. Lessomm had been quietly staring at the stone slab for several long chimes during all of this, only moving his head upwards the more he had built up the shield. His body felt weary from the magic and he wiped away the sweat from his forehead. "All set, master. What's our next step?" He spoke to his master as he turned to him, smiling a weary smile at him, proud of his work. He longed for the chair, wanting to sit down but at the same time he had no intention of showing weakness to his master. It hadn't been the first time he had been exhausted in his life and he had done much more while being exhausted than simply giving a drop of blood to a summoning circle. He really hoped it would work.

[Miro]

Ender spoke in a monotonous voice to Lessomm at a slow and constant rate. It was an inhuman robotic way of speaking that defined him. "My homeworld of Fyrden is a horrible place Lessomm. It differs from Mizahar in that one side constantly receives sunlight while the other is shielded in darkness. It would be as if one half were in eternal frozen night while the other in burning day. The world is crowded to an unbearable point, as the planet is intolerable as it is. It constantly quakes and releases wild discharges of Djed. Our only hope to escape our nightmarish home is to be bound to a wizard on Mizahar. Most are not so lucky."

The Irylid was not fond of talk about his former home, but was fine as long as he did not think about it too hard. It was tough for him to think of all the Fyrdenese with only a prayer that they might be chosen as a Familiar. Part of Ender wished to get more Humans to take partners. Or perhaps devise some way that they might all be free from the world. Though it did not seem possible to help many. He went silent and did not wish to speak any further at this point. He could only hope that someday Lessomm might take a Familiar of his own.

Miro however was lost in thought. He difted back to all of the times he had witnessed the art before. The actual act, once the blood met the circle, such a magnificent display always followed. The circle's aura was always the most impressive thing. It was always different for each display. The circle would always start the same though, a swirly black vortex, like a deep black whirlpool. The aura would follow, whatever brilliant colors were present depending on the Summon. There were other things too, the smell of oil, various sounds. Sometimes it crackled and popped, while other times it sizzled and hissed.

The wizard was admittedly proud of his servant. He had followed all of the instructions very will without any problems. So far the lesson had been nothing short of perfect. But the real test was just about to come with this next part. As the Summoner readied to connect to the circle with his blood, the undead prepared to speak. Their hard work was all for this, and they were so close to achieving the goal. To learn a new magic like this, even one witnessed before, was quite the adventure. To read it all from the short tome and translate it to practice was no simple task.

"Just focus now Lessomm, activate the circle with your will. Your blood completes the link to the circle, and now you need only open a gateway. Once the portal is open, you need only allow a passenger to cross through. That is not something you control however. They must move through of their own free will. When it arrives, keep it tight on leash. We can interact with the creation from there. Ender knows all about the different creature of the world. You can ask the Summon whatever you want too, if you can get an answer."

[Lessomm]

Lessomm listened, perplexed by the reaction from the orb. He had never heard Ender's voice before and now he got a whole paragraph of explanations at once. Lessomm looked at the orb as he tried to determine how much of it was true. "I apologize for asking, Ender. I did not know." Lessomm turned his attention back to the circle in front of him. The summoning circle was in place, the numbers were locked and his shield was draped over the stone slab, hooked under its edge to keep it from moving around too much. It looked to the servant that everything was ready to go. He turned his attention to his master. Lessomm listened to his master's explanation before moving over to the edge of the circle, as far as possible from it while keeping it close enough for his hand to touch the circle itself. He pulled the white gloves off of his hand and hooked them in his belt. Lessomm sat himself down on the floor near the slab and crossed his legs. Carefully, he took the knife by the handle and lifted it to his hand. With slight apprehension he drew the edge of the knife over the palm of his hand, cutting the skin. The blood welled up to the surface and he cupped his hand, trying to keep the blood in it. Holding his hand over the outer circle of the summoning circle, Lessomm prepared to open the portal to Ender's homeworld. Fyrden sounded like a terrible place but, at the same time, it held creatures like Ender so all in all the place couldn't be as bad as it sounded. Just as Lessomm prepared to turn his hand over, an image flashed passed his eyes, disappearing as soon as it appeared. A man was sitting much like Lessomm was, one hand stretched out in front of him, the other three hands stretched out to the sides. The image passed and Lessomm turned his hand over. As his blood dripped onto the circle he spoke. "Connect." It sounded a little lame but it felt necessary to the Eypharian, as if something prompted him to do it. The circle seemed to blacken out under the shimmering of the shield Lessomm had erected around it. The darknes started moving in the slab and spun around, much like black water or ink would. The spinning went faster and faster until colors started to seep out of the darkness. The shield that had been draped over the slab seemed to puff up around the colors as they grew and grew, stretching the shield out. The colors continued to shift and swirl in the dome over the blackness, the shield hugging it tightly. As Lessomm breathed in it seemed like the room had filled itself with an oily smell. His ears picked up the sound of a fire somewhere, wood crackling and popping as it burned. The heat remained the same but Lessomm would have sworn there was a fire burning somewhere behind him, so loud the crackling and popping was. Lessomm prepared himself and willed the portal to allow something to move through it. For a moment, the blackness shimmered and showed a shadow covered plain before the entire portal and dome seemed to black out. The colors remained on the outside of the portal but inside of it all colored had been drained out as shadow seemed to manifest inside of the portal. Not quite sure what to do next, Lessomm made sure to leash the blackness. You never knew what manner of creature might decide to come through the gate. "Hello? Is there anybody in there?" It felt oddly like the title of a song as he said it but the Eypharian ignored the notion. He gave a quick glance towards his master, trying to determine if he had done it correctly or not.

[Miro]

The circle shimmered and sparked, went through the usual display, but then stuttered for a moment. It seemed as if nothing would rise from the swirled inky depths, but then the process began again. It seemed the Summoner did not falter, despite his lack of experience. Slowly from the circle rose a creature, a strange creature, one of darkness. It was an orb of pure darkness, and from it were tendrils of smokey blackness that poured from it. Though the orb was quite small, and the tendrils seemed quite restrained. The creature, despite its unnatural form, still spoke.

There was an awkward pause and silence, but finally it was cut by the hollow voice of the Summon. "Who are you? Perhaps somebody looking for a Familiar?" A simple set of questions and then back to silence. The wizard wasn't sure who was asked, but assumed the lead and began to speak first. "I am Miro, and I already have a Familiar. Ender, the Irylid here, is my partner. The only person here that is not bound to a Familiar is the Summoner who brought you here, Lessomm. But you were not brought here to be bound, but instead so that he may learn of your world, of your people."

Though the creature did not respond to this. Instead Ender chose to speak, knowing a thing or two about the creature before them. "Do not expect much out of this one. It is a Gordios, a being of darkness. It appears the leash has bound some of its abilities, or else it would spread darkness. The Gordios are known for their secrecy and silence. Anything you do get the thing to say is likely not true. They are very hard to work with, but at least they are not a Lightfacer. Still though, I say you'd be best to send it back. They may not be as devious as a Kirt, but they are easily more frustrating."

The Irylid made his opinion known, but the wizard was unsure still. At least the Summoning had gone well, and perhaps that was enough. Lessomm had proven himself with this. Maybe it was best to just end things here. It was not as if the creature was speaking. The undead readied to give the order, but was interrupted by the Gordios who spoke again. "Not all Gordios are so trying on one's patience Ender. Indeed though it does seem that the Irylid are all as cold and judgmental as they say though. I am Garine, and I am enjoying my vacation from our world. This may be my only chance to see Mizahar, and I will do whatever it takes to stay."

The tone of the creature's voice sounded wounded, hurt, as if it was sensitive to the comments made. Miro thought to himself, perhaps there was a bit more to speak of on the complexities of Fyrdenese personalities. Always Ender generalized them so, as if they all thought alike. Though maybe the races didn't know each other as well as they thought. "Lessomm, you have Summoned me here, and you are without a Familiar. There is not much I can say for myself, except that I am loyal, intelligent and kindhearted. I search for the good in everything. And though I don't know you, I see that somewhere inside of you is the mercy to keep me from going back to Fyrden. I will exist there only in misery until the day I die."

The master and Familiar duo were mutually in shock over this outburst, though Ender still retained doubt. He hadn't trusted many of his kind until now for a very simple reason. They were all desperate, and the desperate could not be trusted. They would do or say anything to get what they wanted. However Miro was impressed, and somewhat disappointed in his racist partner. Garine displayed a genuine part of himself for all in the room to see. He knew he hadn't anything to lose, so he put everything on the line. This made especially impressive as apparently it went against the creature's very nature to do so. Though the only impression that mattered was Lessomm's own.

[Lessomm]

Lessomm watched as the darkness in the portal moved, swirled and seemed to hover around a single point in the portal. The middle point of the darkness seemed devoid of any light, a pitch black spot on Lessomm's vision. No knowing what he was up against, Lessomm steeled himself and willed the creature to stay in the portal, the leash strongly attached to it, preventing most, if not all of its abilities and skills. The blackness seemed tiny, barely the size of a child's fist. A strange mix of fascination and fear filled Lessomm as he watched the tendrils move and float around in the portal, occasionally brushing against the shield he had erected. When it spoke, Lessomm felt a shiver run down his spine. The voice was empty, almost like death. Combined with the appearance of the creature, Lessomm's first impressions weren't very good. He didn't quite like the creature, it seemed quite demanding to him. But Lessomm simply smiled, no sign of his own feelings on his face. He remained seated in front of the portal, one hand stretched out towards it, palm just outside the protective circle of his shield. He watched, trying to determine which part of the creature was its face so he could pick up on something matching emotions or anything but the darkness revealed nothing. When Ender spoke for the second time that day, Lessomm turned his attention to his master's familiar. Gordios. The summoning book his master had mentioned the name. One of the inhabitants of Fyrden. He found it amusing to find a touch of something... Lessomm couldn't quite place it, but it was in Ender's voice. It felt quite human. Racism. Ender disliked the Gordios? Lessomm was stunned. He knew from Miro that Ender had never held the people of Mizahar in high regard but that he disliked the creatures from his own dark side of the world came as a big surprise to Lessomm. The Gordios didn't react at first and Lessomm was inclined to believe the Icy orb. But then it spoke again, at length, and drew Lessomm's attention to itself once more. He liked the boldness of the darkness. It was true that Lessomm could send it back with a flick of his mind but he decided against it. There was something to be gained from this. "Hello Garine and welcome to Mizahar. I'm glad you're enjoying your time here so far." From his welcome Lessomm decided to go straight to questioning the creature but it started talking once more. Once again, hearing the tone of voice of the creature, Lessomm found it seemed much more emotional than what he had ever seen from Ender. The longer he listened to it, the more he felt for it. "I... I'm not sure." Lessomm faltered, not really knowing what to do. He didn't want to bind to anything so permanently as his master had been bound to Ender. There was nothing wrong with being bound to someone after you had known them for a long time but binding first and then getting to know them. "Garine, can you tell me something about your own world? I would like to learn about it. Ender has mentioned as well that it is a place of misery and unhappiness. It can not be as bad as you say?" Lessomm did his best to take the creature's attention off of it's attempt to get Lessomm to bind to it. Lessomm turned to regard his master for a moment, hoping to find some form of guidance or way out of his current bind. The mask hid his master's face from him and Lessomm turned back towards the Gordios. Between Ender, Miro and now Garine Lessomm had to admit that everything he had heard about Fyrden had been tales of misery, alien seasons and suns that only showered half of a planet with light and a planet divided into two factions that disliked each other to no end. He wondered if it really was nothing short of a crime to condemn Garine back to its own planet. He resolved himself and turned his head sideways towards his master. "Master... Is there a way to summon Garine back in the future? Specifically Garine?" He spoke over his shoulder, facing the darkness at all times. If he could summon it again at will, then perhaps he wouldn't have to bind to it as Miro had with Ender. And Garine would be able to visit every time Lessomm called it. Perhaps that way the servant would be able to build the relationship first and bind to it afterwards. After that last thought, Lessomm's mind send him another one, a startling revelation that made the Eypharian feel ashamed of himself for having forgotten it. He waited for his master's answer.